


Feather Petting

by PurpleFlyingBird



Series: Merlin Wings [3]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Canon Era, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Gwaine Being Gwaine, Merlin!Merlin, One Shot, POV Gwaine, POV Third Person, Side Story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 18:15:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13793370
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleFlyingBird/pseuds/PurpleFlyingBird
Summary: Gwaine wants to touch Arthur's pet, but first he would need to find a time when the inseparable pair are not together.Side story set in the same universe as "Merlin Wings and Golden Kings."





	Feather Petting

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own BBC's Merlin.
> 
> This side story takes place during the time in Chapter One when Merlin is being cared for by Arthur. Thus Arthur hasn't met the "peasant" Merlin yet.
> 
> Enjoy! :)

Those _soft_ navy blue feathers, flecked with gold like stars in the night sky. _So tempting. ‘I want to touch them,’_ Gwaine thought when he first laid eyes on Arthur’s new pet. When he acted on that impulse, the Princess swerved out of the way and Gwaine’s hand missed.

Gwaine pouted. ‘ _Next time,’_ he thought, _‘Next time, when Princess isn’t there, I’ll try again.’_

* * *

The problem, as Gwaine soon realised, was that Arthur and his falcon quickly became inseparable. It was like they were joined at the shoulder!

Gwaine gazed longingly at the falcon’s soft glittering feathers when the bonded pair passed by once again. When are they ever apart?

_‘Let’s find out, shall we?’_

* * *

It turns out, there was in fact a time when the merlin falcon was nowhere near the Princess. After much snooping around and one too many slaps to the face by blushing chambermaids (What can he say? He just couldn’t resist!), Gwaine finally discovered it.

It was during council meetings.

When Arthur was at these meetings, he would leave the merlin in the safety of his chambers. Now all Gwaine needed was a way inside them…

* * *

“You _want_ to guard _my_ chambers?” Repeated Arthur, incredulous. Gwaine tossed his head, flicking his hair casually over his shoulder and smiled roguishly.

“Why not? The men who normally guard your doors probably need a good long break from you, Princess. We wouldn’t want them getting bored now, do we?” The rugged knight reasoned. Arthur narrowed his eyes at Gwaine, suspicious.

“They get rotated, Gwaine,” Arthur deadpanned. “Why are you so interested in guarding my door? I thought you would rather spend your free time at the Rising Sun, getting drunk.”

_That does sound good right now._

_Feathers. Gwaine. Feathers!_

_You want to touch them, don’t you?_

“Just want to know why all the guards find it so interesting, that’s all,” Gwaine explained, shrugging nonchalantly.

“If you insist,” Arthur said, hesitantly removing a simple-looking key from the key ring on his belt. “This is the spare for my chambers. _Don’t_ lose it. If there’s any trouble you can unlock it, but I want this door locked at _all_ times. I’ll be back once the council meeting has finished, you can guard it until then.”

Gwaine clutched the key in his hands like he would often hold a tankard of prized ale.

_Finally._

* * *

Once Gwaine was certain that Arthur was inside the Council Chambers, he carefully pushed the spare key into the lock and turned it.

_Snick!_

_Success!_ Pushing the door open slightly, he slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind him. Eagerly, Gwaine scanned Arthur’s chambers for those fluffy feathers of his dreams.

No sign of it. _That’s strange._

Moving further inside, Gwaine accidentally stepped on a floorboard which creaked loudly under his weight. There was a deafening silence that followed.

Then…

“Arthur? Oh! Oops. Er-” An unfamiliar voice rang out from Arthur’s royal four-poster bed.

“Who are you?” Gwaine questioned. On the bed, there was a dark-haired man with a faded red tunic and a blue neckerchief around his neck. Gwaine noted that wrapped around one of the man’s arms, were long white bandages. He was staring guiltily at Gwaine with blue-grey eyes.

“Er, I’m…um…one of the servants here. I was just…uh…testing the stuffing in the pillows,” stammered the peasant, awkwardly.

“I see…Mate, do you by any chance know where Arthur’s pet is?” If this servant had been in this room when Arthur was here, he would know where the bird had gone.

 _“Pet?!”_ The servant squawked.

“Yeah, a cute birdie with the softest feathers you’ve ever seen?” Described Gwaine.

“Er…uh, why?”

Gwaine crooked his finger, gesturing for the servant to lean in closer. He glanced around in mock cautiousness before leaning in to stage whisper, “Don’t tell Princess, mate, but I’ve been dying to touch those feathers.”

“Ah,” the man nodded, “Oh, yes, I remember now. Arthur mentioned he left Merlin with Gaius earlier.”

“Did he now? Thanks, mate! And wish I you luck with your arm, get better, my friend,” Gwaine exclaimed, beaming. After a few good-natured slaps on the servant’s back, Gwaine slipped back out of the chambers, remembering to lock it behind him at the last second.

When Arthur gets back, he’ll go to Gaius and see if he could get a chance at stroking the merlin’s feathers.

* * *

According to Gaius, Arthur never left the falcon in his care.

Gwaine despaired. _He’d never get a go at petting that falcon now!_

_Why was it always him?_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
